WTI settles below $68.50, registers losses for third straight trading day
|- WTI settled in the negative territory on Tuesday.
- Weak demand outlook continues to weigh on crude oil prices.
- Majority of oil production in Gulf of Mexico remains shut due to Hurricane Ida.
Crude oil prices continued to push lower for the third straight trading day on Tuesday with the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) settling at $68.35, losing 0.75% on a daily basis.
WTI remains on the back foot despite Hurricane Ida
Following Friday's disappointing August jobs report from the US, investors remain concerned over an unstable recovery in the energy demand. Although the data from China revealed that Exports surged by 25.6% on a yearly basis in August, compared to the market expectation of 17.1%, oil struggled to attract investors on Tuesday.
Additionally, Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant, Aramco, announced on Sunday that it lowered its official selling price (OSP) of all crude grades to Asian refiner in October, further weighing on oil prices.
Meanwhile, the broad-based USD strength also seems to be having a negative impact on WTI. The US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback's performance against a basket of six major currencies, is currently up 0.3% on the day at 92.50.
On the other hand, the latest reports by Reuters show that the oil output in the Gulf of Mexico is down more than 80% due to Hurricane Ida, which could be helping WTI limit its losses for the time being.
On Wednesday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) will release the Weekly Crude Oil Stocks data ahead of the US Energy Information Administration's Weekly Petroleum Status Report on Thursday.
Technical levels to watch for
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